What's workin' now...

[Corey Bechtold]

Well, the weekend came and went and finally I have a chance to sit down and share with you guys the results.

I fished Friday evening with a friend of mine and we searched out several different fish species. There were some Pike and Bass that we caught but we stumbled on a shallow flat that had a void from weeds near a deeper water basin. The underwater camera revealed several different fish but mostly Sunfish. When I saw that it took about 2 seconds for me to grab the Power Tube and another 2 seconds to catch one. There were also some fiesty Rock Bass that took the Power Bait too. The fish weren't confined to one area and were roaming the flat in search of food. Not far behind them were some Pike that made sure they wouldn't sit still for long. It took a bit of "feel" to notice the bites and that was a learning experience for my friend. Most of the fish were hugging the bottom and would hit when the bait slowed or came to a stop. We worked these fish till evening when we switched over to cranking for larger fish (Walleyes).

Sunday I snuck out to a different lake in search of Crappies and had no problem finding them. They were near the bases of weeds along the edge of deep water. These fish went crazy once I switched to a Pink and White Power Minnow. There were other colors that worked but that one was the best. Water clarity was good on this lake which is why the fish preferred the shade of the weedline. I switched lakes toward evening and found the Crappies to be more scattered. Fan-casting the Power Minnows and letting it hug the bottom on a slow retrieve got the fish to commit. The water clarity on this other lake was rather stained so brighter colored Power Minnows worked best for me this day.

I hope to get out again soon and fish some other new lakes in search of Panfish.

What's been working for everybody else lately?

Best fishes,

Corey Bechtold

[CRET]

Corey, Can you show me a picture of the power minnow? I went to my bait store and couldn't find it. Are your jig heads collarless? Also, if you have a picture of the plastic your using called exude? I have been using Ratso's and have noticed a slow down lately...the lake I fish, the spawn stopped 1-2 weeks ago, they were shallow til then. I beleive they are transitioning to deep shortly.

Cret

[delmuts]

if you goto our sponsors, and click on mr. twister, you will find the exude products. for the power minnows do a search for berkley. awesome plastics!

[markkstanley]

Exude Micros are great baits. I was using the nymphs and crawfish last night targeting gills and got a bonus run of five4 to 6lb largemouth. Those baits flat out work.

[Matt Johnson]

Here's a shot of one of my rigged Exude Micro Shads...

I'm using a 1/32oz collarless jighead for these, with a size 8 hook.

It's a lightweight presentation, so fan-casting it on windy days can be tough, but it's a great presentation below a float or when pitching in mild to weak wind conditions...

[Tyler Holm]

There's some more pictures of Exude products... Here...

[Corey Bechtold]

CRET, you might have a hard time finding the Berkley Power Minnows at a bait store right now. They changed the packaging and they are called Realstix 2" Minnows. If you have a chance you might want to try a Reeds or Fleet Farm. They carry the best selection of Panfish plastics that I know of. Most retailers don't re-order often enough to keep up with the demand. I have had a hard time finding any in my area too.

I'll try and get some pictures up later tonight for you so you can see what you're looking for.

Good luck,

Corey Bechtold

[delmuts]

if you can't find them in any stores around your area, berkley will sell them direct too. but try to support any shops/stores in you area when possible!

[Matt Johnson]

We had to go deep for our crappies this weekend. All of our fish came from 16-24 feet of water off a mainlake hump. They were suspended about 3-4 feet off the bottom and seem to like the eastern side of the hump the most towards the steeper break.

We had to work heavier jigs because of the wind and deeper water. 1/8oz were on the smaller end of things.

We used a variety of presentations ranging anywhere from 2.5-inch MisterTwister Sassy Shad to a 1/4oz jig and leech. Seemed like the larger profiled presentations worked the best. Fish ranged anywhere from about 9-12.5 inches.

MisterTwister Sassy Shad

Another one of our groups found crappies in about 8-10 feet of water off a large weed point as the sun was hiding, so fish are also relating to the weed lines...

[Stratosman]

We found them relating to the weed line tucked into an inside turn in about 8-12 feet of water during the last 2 hours of daylight, I took my father in law out and we caught and released about 50 nice slabs between us, all on tubes and 1/16 jig heads. Was sure a nice night on the water.

[CRET]

The weedline I fish is 3-5 feet on top with medium weed cover....but next to a drop off that goes from 3-20 feet in 30 yards...Perfect. They have been biting very good. Listen to this, The crappies were hitting a bobber with a "ringin Rat" set down 8-10 feet in 15 feet of water. We caught one after another. If you casted you got them; but. had to work it hard and took a while. This was all while it was windy...towards evening, we would take the bobber off and do better because of the wind had died down. when they were hitting one after another, I experimented.

1. Ringin Rat(1/32) 2.(1/16)&(1/32) Power Minnow & Realtrix. 3. Exude curley tails(1/32). By far without question this night......The Ringin Rat was the champ! Not even close! it was amazing! In fairness to the Power Minnow, I did not have the same color head or body, however...the bite was hot and I did try a pink head with a white body. Purple head, purple body....was the ticket.

Cret

[united jigsticker]

The g/f and I found them 7-10 feet...free casting a jig, 1/32 oz in size, they took it on the drop for the most part.

The biggest Crappie for the day measured 15" and came out of 8 feet of water. I smiled for the camera on that one.

Most fish were 11". Alot of Bass and Gills were in the mix as well.

Surface water was 82 degrees, and the waterski activity was at its peak.

[Matt Johnson]

Quote:

---

The biggest Crappie for the day measured 15" and came out of 8 feet of water. I smiled for the camera on that one.

---

Alright UJ... let's see it

Nice crappie! I still need to hook into a big sow this summer... it might have to wait until the fall...

[united jigsticker]

Yesterday was a day of numbers.

We found fish anywhere from 3 feet of water out to 17 feet of water, with the most consistent action coming from 5 feet of water.

The presentation was the same, free casting light jigs.

The action was so strong, that at one point I counted 26 consecutive casts in which I boated a fish.

The size was nothing to brag about, with the largest Crappies being 10" fish.

There were also quite a few Bluegills in the mix as well.

Not too bad for a hot day on a new lake though...And the company was great as well.

[ole matty]

Took my pa from ohio out on sakatah, mazaska, elysian and francis lake for some panfish action. My dad was impressed by the nbr and sizes of fish caught *all by me * bigest begin 9 inches bluegill out of sakath. And most of 7 to 8 inches bluegills out on francis. Caught them in 8 to12 fow. Was using 1 inches twister tail and crawler *my dad don't believe in plastics* kept few for fry. My dad will coming back soon! Have a happy fishing!

Ole matty

[delmuts]

man, that is great! yep! the older folks just know you haqve to have BAIT to catch fish! but if you catch as many or more using plastics, he may come around in time! as long as both of you are having a great time. enjoy it!

[Matt Johnson]

Lilypadded areas seemed to be the ticket yesterday. Any area amongst the lilypads held gills. We also managed a few crappies mixed in, but few and far between.

Exude Twister Tails and Micro Shads worked well. My mom was the sunny-slayer again! As she had a fish on her line at almost all times!

We're going to give it a try again tomorrow to see if we can find a few larger fish...

[Corey Bechtold]

Glad to see some people are getting out fishing. I have been a household chore, madman, the last few days. I haven't been fishing since Friday . The report is a good one anyway. Cole and I tried to find a spot out of the wind that held some fish. The fish weren't grouped together so much but catching them wasn't a problem. We decided to slow troll or drift for our fish covering water in search of active fish. We ended up catching quite a few smaller Sunfish and some nice Crappies. All of our fish came off White Power Tubes and Smelt Power Minnows fished on a 1/16 oz jighead. The fish were relating to a break line that went from 6'-10' of water. I also tried some other assorted baits but had no luck.

Hope to get a new computer soon so I can chat with everyone some more and share a few pictures. Keep the good reports coming .

Later,

Corey Bechtold

[delmuts]

i worked small pond this morning.( it was great in the rain!! nobody around!! ) the better gils were right on the edge of the milfoil) any thing over two ft. from it and it was just the little ones. no crappies, hair jig tipped with a waxie about 3ft. below a float! i did pick up about a 2# cat on this rig!he was a hand full on an ultra lite and 2# mono!

[Corey Bechtold]

Good job delmuts! What kind of dance did you do to get it to rain? We sure could use some up here.

Later,

Corey Bechtold

[Matt Johnson]

My dad and I found the gills relating to the lilypads again today. If you didn't land the jig within about 2 feet of the pads then you wouldn't get a hit. They were right up under the pads and they did not want to come out and play. The hot sun definitely kept them tight to the weeds.

The crappies were out deeper, in about 14-20 feet of water out from the steep breaks adjacent to the weeds. They were scattered but if you dragged your jig through a pod then one would take it.

JB Lures Tadpole spins worked well on the crappies, and the gills fell victim to a pink or white Exude Micro Shad on a 1/32oz jighead...

[delmuts]

man it was a perfect rain!! never heavy, but steady. a couple of guys said we got .8 in. there were no puddles to be found!

[Matt Johnson]

This warm weather has pushed the pannies out deeper, at least the crappies and the larger gills. You can still find smaller fish in the shallower areas, but the consistent larger fish are holding out deeper where the water is cooler.

Midlake humps have also been producing crappies and gills. Humps anywhere from 20 feet of water to 5 feet of water. If targeting shallower humps, look for some sort of weed growth, as those areas will be better due to the comfort zone and shade. Find where the weeds begin to thin and pitch jigs in those areas. Seems to be best in that 6-10 foot mark.

Shallow lilypads are still holding a lot of gills, but the size is lacking. A lot of the better size fish in those areas have moved further into the lilypads in spots that are non-fishable. Best bet is working the edges and staying as close to the lilypads as possible.

A variety of presentations have been working. Exude Micro Shads and Berkley Power Minnows, Exude Twister Tails, Berkley Power Tubes, Culprit Paddle Tails, JR's Stub Grubs, just to name a few.

JB Lures Tadpole Spins are also taking a few fish, especially along the weed edges.

We should see a slight decrease in temps, so fishing should pick up a little within the next few days...

[united jigsticker]

Vacation's over Johnson.

When is Pappa Johnson throwin' down the grill steaks and onion potatoes?????????????

[Matt Johnson]

I'm sure he'll find time to attend the grill in the near future